Learn to fly · KCOI · Space Coast, FL

Earn your private pilot certificate at Merritt Island.

No experience needed. One on one training with Gretchen Crowe from your first discovery flight to your private pilot checkride, at Merritt Island Airport on Florida's Space Coast.

Book a discovery flight →

or call / text (919) 285-5350

No experience needed
Garmin G5 Cessna 172
One instructor, start to finish

View over the Space Coast shoreline from the cockpit minutes after takeoff

The view from lesson one

Over the Space Coast shoreline, minutes after takeoff from KCOI. This is what your first hour looks like.

The easiest way to start

Start with a discovery flight.

A discovery flight is a real introductory lesson, not a sightseeing ride. You brief with Gretchen, walk around the airplane together, and then fly the Cessna 172 yourself with her beside you the whole time. About an hour, start to finish. No experience needed, no commitment, and you decide afterward whether you want to continue.

✓Meet your instructor and talk through your goals
✓Preflight the airplane together
✓Take off and fly with your hands on the controls
✓Land and leave with a clear next step, or don't. No pressure.

Book a discovery flight →

Rate: ask for current rates. A discovery flight is billed as a single introductory session.

Cessna parked on the grass at sunset at Merritt Island — Evenings on the field at KCOI

What it takes

Part 61 minimums, in plain English.

Total flight time40 hrs

Training with an instructor20 hrs

Solo flight time10 hrs

Cross country, night, and instrument trainingIncluded

Knowledge test, medical certificate, and checkrideRequired

The FAA minimum is 40 hours. Most people take more, commonly 60 to 80 hours, and the biggest factor is how often you fly. Two or three lessons a week is the fastest path, and Gretchen builds the plan around your calendar.

Who this is for

If any of these sound like you, come fly.

✓You have never touched the controls and want to see if flying is for you
✓You started training somewhere else and stopped
✓You want to fly for the joy of it, or to take family and friends up
✓You are thinking about a flying career and want to start on the right foundation

💬 Text Gretchen

Gretchen Crowe beside a Cessna 172 at Merritt Island Airport — Gretchen on the ramp at KCOI

Getting started is simple

Three steps to your first session.

No school enrollment, no commitment. A clear path from "thinking about it" to flying.

STEP 01

Text or call

Ten minutes on where you are, what you fly, and what you're after.

STEP 02

Get a simple plan

Where you stand against the requirements and what comes next, in plain English.

STEP 03

Fly

Your first session on the calendar at Merritt Island Airport.

Book a session

Book a discovery flight.

Tell Gretchen a little about you. No experience needed and no commitment: you will get a straight answer on what a first lesson looks like and what comes next.

Call or text Gretchen

(919) 285-5350

Texting is fine and often fastest. Say what you fly and what you're after.

☎ Call 💬 Text

1A ten minute conversation about where you are
2A straight answer on timeline and what it takes
3Your first session on the calendar